Why Did You Start Homebrewing?

[Mothballs]

I made my first brew in 1989. I was 17 and my mates and myself needed a cheap source of beer. I bought a brigalow kit from coles. The first beer was ready to drink on xmas eve. It was pretty awful but was consumed in about 3 days. Shortly after I found my way into the very first dedicated HBS in Toowoomba and my life has never been the same again.

 

[Duff]

My father used to do it when I was in my final year at school and I started my own when I moved and began my apprenticeship. Started with the Wanders kit, 1kg sugar and packet yeast, all brewed in my garage in Cairns at 30C. "This is great and a real quick turn around" I thought, fermented out in 2 days before bottled. Had a few bottle bombs and infections and lost a bit of interest, gave all my gear away to my mates which was never to be seen again when I moved to the US to work.

Fast forward 8 years and got the itch again last June (2004). Got all the gear together again and some excellent advice and guidance from Mal who used to run the HB shop in Chapel Hill in Brisbane. Moved to Sydney in October 2004 and started AG and was blown away with my first attempt (so much better than the Wanders kit). Now have 3 kegs (4 more on the way), 4 fermenters, 2 fridges, 9 or 10 different yeast starters, a bunch of different grain, 6 batches currently drinking, 2 ready to keg and one CC'ing.

Where will it all stop?

Cheers...

 

[barfridge]

I could tick 4 or 5 boxes in that list. It started as a birthday present from my wife, who now sorely regrets it taking over our house.

Over time it's become all on the list, except the last 2, and I'm not admitting to the 3rd last one yet either. But the best part for me these days is the social aspect.

 

[Pumpy]

I got a kit for my birthday .

I wanted to brew English beer and built myself a AG rig ( as if I was on a mission) never made any with grain in before !.

I had a go, everything went wrong ,but the beer tasted bloody great , I thought well if everything goes right it should taste even better and it does .

I cant stop now .

Pumpy

 

[Airgead]

Folks

My brewing start is pretty wierd. A long time ago (15 years almost) I was (still am) part of the Pagan community and we were looking for mead to serve at some of our festivals. Decent mead is hard/impossible to buy so I did some research and decided to have a go myself. I stuck to mead for a good few years with a couple of ciders thrown in then bought a copy of The New Complete Joy of Hone Brewing as it had a chapter on mead. The chapter on mead was pretty ordinary but the chapters on beer were pretty good so I started on the beer. One or two ordinary kits then switched to malt plus specialty grains which I did on and off for 10 years then switched to AG a few months ago. I still do the occasional mead and cider as well.

Cheers
Dave

 

[JasonY]

Well it started as a way of making cheap beer when I was at uni, the results were not that great but did the job. Curiosity made me make the jump to AG a couple of years ago and now I would call it an addiction

 

[Gerard_M]

I saw a billboard for Coopers & purchased a 6 pack. Next day I enquired about the price of a case. Walked out of the bottlo & into Big W. 1 starter Kit please!
Never look back!
Cheers
Gerard
There is a much longer version of this story. I won't bore you.

 

[Bidtfaun]

I love anything DIY...especially when it tastes so good :chug:

 

[spog]

the better half and kids gave me hb kit for fathers day 2001,gotta be the best ever hic,burp. :beerbang:

 

[ausdb]

I could tick 4 or 5 boxes in that list. It started as a birthday present from my wife, who now sorely regrets it taking over our house.

Over time it's become all on the list, except the last 2, and I'm not admitting to the 3rd last one yet either. But the best part for me these days is the social aspect.

[post="78682"][/post]​

I'm with you Bar except mine was a chrissy present that back fired!
My partner bought me a voucher to go to the ubrew it place, that was ok but I dont like megaswill lager like my mates so we could never agree on what we were going to make. Tha last beer I made there was crap and put me off

The next christmas she bought me a coopers kit on the promise that it would stay in the shed and not invade the house. Oh well sh!t happens I think I have successfuly invaded almost every room of the house (bedroom included if you count BYO mags and brew books) but she tolerates it!

I also love the process of brewing, the reading and learning, the making and inventing things, the drinking of the finished product. One thing that is really good is the feeling you get after a megaswill drinker compliments you on your brew and is dumbfounded that you made it yourself at home!

It really is a great all round hobby :beer: :chug:

 

[BoilerBoy]

Started brewing early last year, my wife had bought me a coopers kit for my birthday 12months previous, but never got round to it being constantly busy. Finally short of cash I gave it a go and after a few kits I was reasonably disapointed. I remember going to Goliath brewing and talking with Dave and I walked out nearly an hour later with 1 kilo of grain to part mash and never looked back!

 

[SpaceMonkey]

I'm another who could probably tick a few boxes. Years back when I was teenager a mate's dad used to home brew. Spend a few enjoyable afternoons round at his consuming his brew, which I thought wqs pretty decent at the time.
A couple of years later was on the dole and me and my broke flatmates decided to give it a go purely for cost reasons. The results were pretty awful, although we consumed the fist batch in a single session anyway. I don't think we brewed a second.
A decade or so later and I'm getting seriously fed up with having to pay $10-$15 for a six pack of average beer. I've also developed a taste for boutique beers over the last few years but the price was even more horrendous. Then while at a food and wine show I saw a Malt Shovel stand where they were promoting their kits. The Malt Shovel kits were a bit pricey and only made small batches but it kind of got me thinking and decided to give home brewing another go. I had some Big W vouchers spare so I went and cashed them in for a Coopers starter kit (conveniently on special at $59!) and got started... 3 brews in the first was drinkable, the second (an ESB from Dave's home brew) was much better than drinkable and the third hs just been bottled. Really glad I took up the hobby and can't imagine myself buying beer from the bottleshop again!

 

[delboy]

my wife said i drank to much and bought me a kit so now i drink even more

 

[PostModern]

There is a much longer version of this story. I won't bore you.

[post="78809"][/post]​

Fill us in Gerard.

I promise not to get bored.

I'm looking for a career change atm. Tossing up between brewing, train driving or coal mining. (Presently in IT). Your story might sway me (one way or another )

 

[Bilph]

I could tick 4 or 5 boxes in that list. It started as a birthday present from my wife, who now sorely regrets it taking over our house.

Over time it's become all on the list, except the last 2, and I'm not admitting to the 3rd last one yet either. But the best part for me these days is the social aspect.

[post="78682"][/post]​

I'm with you Bar except mine was a chrissy present that back fired!
My partner bought me a voucher to go to the ubrew it place, that was ok but I dont like megaswill lager like my mates so we could never agree on what we were going to make. Tha last beer I made there was crap and put me off

The next christmas she bought me a coopers kit on the promise that it would stay in the shed and not invade the house. Oh well sh!t happens I think I have successfuly invaded almost every room of the house (bedroom included if you count BYO mags and brew books) but she tolerates it!

I also love the process of brewing, the reading and learning, the making and inventing things, the drinking of the finished product. One thing that is really good is the feeling you get after a megaswill drinker compliments you on your brew and is dumbfounded that you made it yourself at home!

It really is a great all round hobby :beer: :chug:

[post="78835"][/post]​

I'm definitely a multi box-ticker as well...

I needed a cheap form of beer.
So long as it's good, cheap is good too.
I got a home brew kit for my birthday/xmas/fathers day.
The first kit was a gift from a retired brewer. Some of it is still around, but there have been many... too many... upgrades.
Everyone needs a hobby.
It's not a hobby, it's an obsession.
Australian beer is ****.
NRR.
I like imported beers ( & they are too expensive to buy).
A good session of imported English beers is over $100 and I hate to think how much Belgians cost me.
5 good sessions in one fermenter for $25, often better than the imports.
A mate/family member got me started.
It was a mate's old man's kit we started with. We still brew together. Our tastes have diverged somewhat.
And I still haven't mastered West End Export for him. Shame, oh shame.
I'm an alcoholic.
Never used to be.
Saw an article in a newspaper/magazine/internet/tv.
I was well into it before the second wave of Craftbrewing became popular enough to feature in the press.
I found a starter kit at the supermarket/hardware store.
That one's a no. But I keep finding brewing things in the supermarket/hardware store/plumbing supply/random import house/catering company/bins at the back of the pub etc. etc. etc.

:beer:

 

[Gerard_M]

My interest in brewing goes back to my first season caddying on the pro golf tour in Europe in 1990. Great beers & great places to enjoy them & the company was awesome. I was always a bit disappointed when I came home to the "ordinariness" of Australian beer. My sisters' father-in-law was brewing beer, & it was awful. Went back to Europe & I met a girl in Munich who actually did have a father that owned a brewery. I fell in love. The girl was kind of nice too! As I was always on the move I had the chance to try some great beers & visit a heap of breweries. Carlsberg, Guinness, Bachmayer, Budvar, Pilsner Urquell etc. I had an afternoon at Kooyonga Golf Course with Bill Cooper from Coopers Brewery. What a great guy. I was a huge Coopers fan, still am. Can't remember much about the golf, but we had a few beers, followed by a few more. He talked me into buying a Home Brew kit. When I quit travelling I settled in Perth for a few years. I borrowed a lonely kit from my cousin & made a few Coopers Dark can kits. It was drinkable, but the local had beers from the Sail & Anchor so why bother making it? I decided that if you get 2 cans of Coopers Dark & no sugar it would be a good beer. Wrong, it was a great beer. The local had some great talent, & if they were lucky they got an invite to try a few beers back at my place, if they said NO, then more beer for me.
When I returned to Sydney, I took a job managing pubs for the Laundy family. The boss was very keen on me learning as much as I could about the cellar & beer plumbing. For my homework I started with a Coopers kit from Big W, moved on to the local HBS, & made a few good beers. I had a very good win on the horses one day and turned up at the HBS the next day with a pocket full of cash & the desire to go all grain. I was told that it was a waste of time. I got in the car & drove to see Mel @ ESB. I got a better answer. I went to see Leon do a demo at Clovelly. The Boss decided he would install a brewery & I could run it. Long story short the brewery came & went without producing beer. I stick to running pubs & studying Political Science at Uni!?!? I pestered Matt @ St Peters & Rob Freshwater @ Malt Shovel for some work. I quit the pubs & started working at Tooheys & Malt Shovel. (The $$$ was surprisingly good) I enrolled at Ballarat to do the Grad Dip in Brewing and started up my own HBS. Just short of a year @ the HBS & I was asked if I would be interested in taking over the brewing job @ Paddys. The answer was YES. Turned the shop into an on-line business, still going strong. I was lucky enough to do the start-up brews for the Macquarie Brewery in the city, which was a nice change. Recently I was offered the position of STAY AT HOME-DAD. It is a great job. Better than caddying on the pro tour or playing amateur tournaments. Almost as dangerous as the pub game (ask Pete Wadey about playgroup), and even more rewarding than brewing.
Cheers
Gerard

 

[altstart]

Gooday Brewers
I started brewing in 1984 and settled on Champs beer kits. In 1987 took a contract in PNG. No kits on sale in PNG so no brewing for 4 years. Returned to Oz in 1991 and settled in Brissy. 1994 walked into my local HBS and bought a Keg kit . Brewing happily since then. Went to a AG demo in April this year and moved into AG by June. Hopelesly addicted and no wish to break it.
Cheers Altstart

 

[tangent]

thats a great story Gerard